News reports: “Pope ousted, charged with crimes against humanity”

Just as “those who don’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” so “those who don’t know the Faith are condemned to reject it,” which, since Pope Benedict announced his resignation, they’ve been doing with renewed and great noise, criticizing the Church for views She doesn’t hold and for teachings She never taught.

Some of the critics are indirect and almost polite: in February the New York Times reported that Benedict’s resignation “puzzled the faithful and scholars, who wonder how a pope can be infallible one day and fallible the next — and whether that might undermine the authority of church teaching.”

Others are less restrained, writing with crude aggression that seems to grow bolder in direct proportion to their ignorance of the Church. For example, after the announcement of Benedict’s resignation, one blogger explained papal infallibility this way:

It means that if you’re a Catholic, you do whatever the pope says. Pope says birth control’s the work of the devil, you say it, too. Pope hates gay marriage, that’s your opinion as well.
The papacy is not the place for debates or democracy.
He’s the Godfather, and all Catholics are Luca Brasi.

He continues:

The whole thing is, well, troublesome. You certainly can’t have two people running around with infallibility. If they ever said sentences containing different words you’d theologically get yourself into one of those time-traveler-meeting-their-younger-self, rip-in-the-fabric-of-space-time scenarios. So the Church took the easy way out: “Don’t worry,” they said. “We’re just going to pass along infallibility to the next one.”

Now if I believed (as does this blogger . . . along with, it seems, the New York Times) that infallibility is a quality of the person of the Pope, rather than a privilege of his office, then I, too, would be shaken by Benedict’s resignation and might laugh at the Church for holding views that no rational person can respect.

I don’t say that their views are untinged by malice; rather, I think their errors about Church teachings—errors shared by the majority of non-Catholics—lend their anti-Catholic arguments an aura of credibility where there really is none.

Just at the moment, like waves battering the shore in a hurricane, the ordinary currents of anti-Catholic foolishness are surging relentlessly: “Pope Benedict’s resignation shakes our faith in the Papacy.” “Pope Francis’s love of the poor restores it.” “Francis’s sanctioning women religious shakes it again.”

Headlines about the Church changing faster than the tides confuse the average American and unsettle even ordinary Catholics.

That’s why, in times like these, the work of CatholicExchange.com is so important. We serve as your trustworthy friend, a faithful beacon whose clear, steady light shines forth across today’s dark and turbulent seas, guiding all of us to the truth about the Church that Christ gave us.

No matter how bizarre the headlines or how fierce the scorn, you know you can always turn with confidence to CatholicExchange.com for accurate news, cultural analysis, and resources that help you and your family to grow in holiness.

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Vatican coup? Pope ousted?

That’s perhaps the best 2 cents Catholics can spend today, because the anti-Catholic nonsense just doesn’t stop coming. Just the other day I ran across scores of articles claiming that a week before Pope Benedict resigned, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone, was informed that Benedict would soon be arrested for “crimes against humanity” and for directing an “ongoing criminal conspiracy to aid and protect child torture and trafficking.”

That’s nonsense, of course, but it’s nonsense believed by tens of thousands who get their news about the Church from biased reporters and petty bloggers . . . which is why it’s essential that our work continue here at CatholicExchange.com—work we must undertake full-time and anew each day to counter the anti-Catholics who are themselves working overtime to discredit the Faith.

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I have often times read that the catholic church is like a large unsinkable ship headed to heaven and that the faithful who live on-board need only follow the directions of the captain and that they shall make it safety to Heaven. They need not worry about going astray or getting lost or not having to enough to eat or storms or large waves or hitting icebergs or rocks and cliffs and sinking. It sometimes seems ridiculous that some on board would sit on the side rails with megaphones yelling to the madmen on the shores and in other nearby craft “don’t criticize us”, “please, understand, we are fine here on-board. No need to say mean things about us”. Of all the oddities that the madmen see from a distance…the most odd is the people sitting on the rails ranting such silly warnings and teachings.

I’ve also heard that if one wrestles with pigs, both will get muddy and that the pig will enjoy it. It seems silly, therefore, to wrestle with pigs.

devo56

We have to be careful with the analogy, Catholics do not believe in blind faith; John Paul II tells us that both Faith and Reason are the two wings on which the human spirit rises to truth.
Our beautiful Catholic Faith is founded on the Truth which is the second person of the Trinity – Jesus Christ. He commanded us to go forth and make all nations his disciples.
Some we simply ask to get into our boat some require a reasoned argument which we must never deny. Our weapon of choice, unlike the Islamist, is the non-violent weapon of Christian Love.
We are charged by Christ to wrestle with pigs (sinners) and to engage fellow sinners whose faith is shallow and perhaps lacks profound reasoning. God has given us all the tools we need, some embrace Christ in Faith, yet others require astute reasoning that also helps lead them to Christ but in either case each way is a gift of grace sufficient for salvation.

Gary

Thank you for helping all realise that Catholic bashing is the last accepted form of bigotry in the US

lokionline

Funny… the atheists think the same thing.

Who would be most likely to voted into office in the US, a Catholic or a Atheist? Polls tell us it would not even be close.

Since the Kennedy Presidency 50 years ago Catholics have had little problem being elected. Atheists are ranked last in these polls.

So who is the true victim of bigotry today?

Gary

I’m afraid the atheists would probably have an edge today in getting elected. Of course, many of these so-called “Catholic” politicians are not really Catholic, e.g. Pelosi, Biden. They use the label when convenient, but don’t appear to really believe in much of anything except Obama, their ‘god’.

John

It is not the faith of those on-board,whether it be blind, nearsighted, farsighted, or ultra-bionic vision of Socratic or Thomistic ability, that strikes the madmen as odd….just the idea that those on-board care to defend themselves from the rantings and ravings of the madmen not on-board that seems futile. If madmen were to be drawn to get on the ship, it would be because they could see something sublime, noble, and extraordinarily beautiful about how the passengers loved one another and even treated the madmen with kindness and love. See, outside the ship, there are those who take their brothers and sisters to court to extact justice, there are those who scream and holler about their rights and the unbearable injustices done to their persons. Hollywood, Washington, Motown, Nashville, and those in Kansas nowadays, are all screaming “how dare you!”, and “I’m so offended”. Teaching, strengthening, leading, those on-board makes sense and is wonderful and should be lauded, but why bother taking offense from those who know no better?

St. Francis said to preach the gospel everywhere…and that if you must, even use words.
Peace to all on board and off board as well 🙂

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